EXAM TIME

Just about every young person anywhere in the world when exam time rolls around will wrestle with a thought in their mind that sound similar to the following question: ‘After I leave school will I every use any of this information I have been taught for the past year ever again?’ ‘Will I have to find the integral of an equation? Or ‘Will I ever have to use the equations of motion during my interview for a job?’ Or ‘Is all of this memorizing of the different redox reactions in Chemistry really going to applicable in the real world?’ The answer is probably not but learning about them is still very important. Not only is acquiring knowledge important, the application of the acquired knowledge is equally as important. I like to use the analogy of going to school as taking your mind to the gym. Sometimes you have to flex those mental muscles so that you gain the skills necessary to be able to navigate through this jungle that we call life. Much of the science and math based subjects are all about problem solving. This is a very important skill set to have as a citizen of the world. History based subjects allow us to peer into the lives of civilizations of the past. What can we learn from them? What mistakes did they make? How did they recover from them? What successes did they have? How can I apply those successes to my life today? Arts based subjects and languages help us to communicate with each other, to be able to make new friends with people from all over the world, to learn from each other. So school is very important, the things that you learn prepare you for life.

So why do I have to sit exams? Why do I need to be assessed on this knowledge that I am gaining? That is a really good question. The best answer I can give is life puts us to the test every day. Some days the tests are harder than others but there is no escaping them. Let me give you an example. You have a big presentation to make at work today. You have been preparing for it all for three weeks. There is still some minor tweaking to do but you hope to get in to the office early so that you can finish everything off. After a restless night sleep because you are so hyped you get up early to get ready to go to work. You leave home on time and head to the bus stop. After 20 minutes no buses come along and you start to get nervous. What do I do? Do I wait for a little while longer or catch a cab? Unknown to you there is a massive traffic jam affecting all traffic into your area. No cars, taxis or buses can get through because the road is closed off. The walk to the MTR station will take you at least 30 minutes and it is hot and humid outside. What do you do? If you walk you will be dripping with sweat when you get there. The trains will probably be full. What do you do? How do you solve this problem? This is how life is sometimes. You have to be able to think on your feet. School prepares you for moments like this. You have to be able to pass the test.

So good luck boys. Study hard. Get a good night’s rest before your exam. Eat a good breakfast and simply do your best. Even if you don’t do as well as you would have wished, don’t worry there will be another test around the corner for you to try again on. Amen.